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Elizabeth Warren Discusses The Global "Enron": From Wall Street To Greece And Back
- Christina Romer
- Commercial Real Estate
- Congressional Oversight Panel
- Consumer protection
- Credit Default Swaps
- default
- Double Dip
- Elizabeth Warren
- Enron
- Fail
- Goldman Sachs
- goldman sachs
- Greece
- Larry Summers
- Private Equity
- Real estate
- Recession
- Sovereign Debt
- Tim Geithner
- Too Big To Fail
- Transparency
- Unemployment
The appearance of the Chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel, Elizabeth Warren, on Charlie Rose is a must watch. In addition to an in depth discussion of the the consumer protection agency, which despite all valiant attempts to the contrary, will likely end up under the Fed's jurisdiction, thereby making the world's most powerful cabal even more powerful, Warren touches on a variety of other issues, including the sovereign debt situation, commercial real estate, and the one concept at the heart of it all: the lack of impairments by stockholders (and certainly by debtholders) in what was a bankrupt financial industry. The world would not have ended had banks been forced to readjust their balance sheets: the outcome would have been far simpler - all those who had their collective net wealth associated with the balance sheets, and specifically the equity tranche, of firms like Goldman, JPM, Citi, BofA and Wells would have been wiped out. But why do that when not just they, but the entire government were willing to make it seems that a balance sheet reorganization is equivalent to liquidation. Once again, those at the top were more than happy to take advantage of the stupidity of the morts (whose great desire to be distracted by stupidity like primetime TV is well known to the financial-media complex) and in the process make themselves even richer, and more powerful. Now, we expect yet another blogger to come out with yet another book discussing this and every other deadbeaten horse issue out there. And with time amoral hazard itself will slowly become illegal, as everything, and we mean everything, succumbs to the decision making of the Federal Reserve's Politbureau. In the meantime nothing will change until democracy itself is reignited in this country.
Warren's observations on Greece and Goldman's involvement in creating Europe's Enron.
CHARLIE ROSE: We are now looking at the situation in Greece where there is risk of default on debt. And what’s come into play are private equity firms looking how they get engaged and also betting on Euro, and credit default swaps have risen their presence again.
And the whole notion of bookkeeping, in effect.
CHARLIE ROSE: Whether certain firms -- the charge is certain firms help them cover up the amount of debt they had.
ELIZABETH WARREN: Enron taught us a few years back, you remember, in fact that the books are dirty, that there is one set of books put out in front for everyone to see, but there are effectively off the book transactions that nobody can see that reflect the real risks that your enterprise has taken.
And we’ve gone straight from Enron to Greece, with lots of stops in between for large financial institutions.
But what it really goes back to is how much honesty, how much transparency are we going to insist on in the financial system? Everyone wants to make this stuff really hard. It’s about credit default swaps and derivative squares, and so on. No, it really is about things like transparency and honesty.
On Too Big To Fail:
CHARLIE ROSE: What else do you want to see in regulatory, in a bill that’s supposedly looks at how we got where we are in the economic crises and the recession that we experienced and to make new rules and regulations that will prevent it from happening again?
ELIZABETH WARREN: It’s about the other end of the spectrum. We started at families. The other end is "too big to fail."
Until we build a chapter 11 system, a resolution authority system, whatever we want to call this, until we build the part of the legal structure that permits us as a people to say with real credibility behind it, "credibility" is the underlying word here -- I don’t care what your business is. I don’t care how big you are, I don’t care how intertwined you are. If you make bad enough decisions, you can be liquidated. It’s over.
On wiping out shareholders in the bankrupt institutions (and yes, that includes Goldman Sachs):
ELIZABETH WARREN: There’s a key part to this on bailing out the banks. Here’s what’s always driven me crazy about this from the beginning. I understand financing that comes in once a business is in distress. We call it post-petition financing in the bankruptcy world.
The price for that is that equity gets wiped out, top management loses their jobs, and the old debt takes a hair cut of some proportion. To come in and rescue under those circumstances, I get it, that happens. That’s what bankruptcy’s about. That says the participants in the old one don’t get it.
What we did when we rescued these banks is that we left the shareholders intact, we left their top management intact, we paid their debt in full. We came in --
CHARLIE ROSE: So we, the U.S. government -- in your judgment -- for good motivation mostly to save the economy from collapsing, made a bad deal.
ELIZABETH WARREN: We were far too generous.
CHARLIE ROSE: That’s a bad deal, isn’t it?
ELIZABETH WARREN: With those who made --
CHARLIE ROSE: So you could have saved the economy without going to the extent in making the deal you did?
ELIZABETH WARREN: I think you could have.
CHARLIE ROSE: And within the context of the crisis at the moment and working around the clock --
ELIZABETH WARREN: Come on. Bankruptcy lawyers work around the clock all the time...We do it with lots of financial institutions.
Wiping out shareholders who were the people who invested and who had profited from all of the mistakes that these companies had made for years and years and years before that, that’s not hard. That’s not rocket science. That’s just a difference on who gets to sit at the table and who gets to walk away with money.
I’m sorry. That one is not an emergency situation.
And on Commercial Real Estate (yes, CNBC, it has not gone away just because nobody is talking about it):
CHARLIE ROSE: Commercial real estate, what are we looking at.
ELIZABETH WARREN: Oh golly -- 2,988 banks that by the terms of their own regulators are too concentrated in commercial real estate. These are the medium size banks. By the end of this year, half of all commercial real estate loans will be underwater, and they are coming in ‘11, ‘12 and ‘13.
The reason this is such a bad problem anyway -- think about that, nearly 3,000 banks out of a total of 8,000 -- it’s the very banks that do small business lending who are about to get socked in the nose on real estate, commercial real estate losses.
CHARLIE ROSE: So we’ll see banks going under because they’ve got too many loans out there are not being repaid?
ELIZABETH WARREN: We’re seeing banks that don’t want to lend because they see every dollar that comes in the door and say "I’ve got to hold on to it to try to fill my commercial real estate hole or else I will be gone."
And lastly, on the imminence of the double dip:
CHARLIE ROSE: Joe Stiglitz, who you know who was here last night, basically says he fears we’ll see a double dip recession, so the economy has to do with inventory and the end of the stimulus and a whole range of issues, unemployment staying where it is.
Do you have that kind of, even though you’re a lawyer and not an economist, fear about this economy?
ELIZABETH WARREN: I am afraid. I’m afraid because of what I see in the real economy. I’m afraid because I don’t see books that are clean, balance sheets that have been cleaned up. I’m afraid because in October of 2008, Secretary Paulson came to the American people and he said the problem is toxic assets on the books of the banks, and they’re still there.
CHARLIE ROSE: Although they’re worth more than they were.
ELIZABETH WARREN: Lucky us.
I’m afraid because Secretary Paulson said there’s too much concentration in the banking industry, and there’s even more concentration today than there was --CHARLIE ROSE: So bigness is bad?
ELIZABETH WARREN: It’s not that bigness is bad, it’s that we’ve got concentrated risk and that’s what creates too big to fail, and that’s creating distortions throughout our economy.
We haven’t yet put our feet on solid ground and begin -- begun to rebuild an economy we can believe in.
CHARLIE ROSE: I hear you as saying that the mindset of the people making the economic decisions in Washington, Larry Summers, Tim Geithner, Christina Romer, and others, they look at the world through the wrong experience. You might want to include Christine not in that, but certainly Summers and Geithner.
Do you think their experience has been too connected to the point of view that does not allow them to make the optimal decision? I tried to make that as easy as I could.
ELIZABETH WARREN: I think we have different worldviews.
CHARLIE ROSE: You and them?
ELIZABETH WARREN: Yes. I just don’t think we see the world the same way.
CHARLIE ROSE: And so therefore they shouldn’t be in place.
ELIZABETH WARREN: Well, I’m going to say it differently. I think that Summers and Geithner are smart. I think they’re honorable. I think they approach the economy and the world through the largest institutions. And they see the world from a top-down perspective.
I spent 25 years somewhere else.
CHARLIE ROSE: Academia?
ELIZABETH WARREN: No, come on. Summers and I started in the same place.
CHARLIE ROSE: I know.
ELIZABETH WARREN: I’ve spent my time and my research on economic death and rebirth. And much of that was about what happened to America’s middle class, how we have hollowed out America’s middle class. It will not save us if a handful of Wall Street banks prosper and the rest of America fails.
Our focus, our energy, our heart has to be on the rest of America.
Full Charlie Rose clip after the jump.
h/t Richard
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Stunningly insightful, intelligent, thoughtful person. That all with such responsibilities could be in the same image.
Kudos!
Too bad she is powerless and no one in the administration listens to her. Maybe she will join the Fed's new financial product protection group? Change we can believe in!!
Poker tourny just got robbed on live TV
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFn3XxRWcO0
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8553943.stm
She was doing fine up until she called Summer and Geithner honorable.
That's total bullshit and beneath her to talk such trash
while in the last sentence saying that bankers prosper while the rest of the world suffers.
That wouldn't be happening if Geithner and Summers were honorable.
She just dropped 50% in my eyes.
It's just sarcasm.
She knows that no one believes that.
Give her the benefit of the doubt. She rocks
Telling the truth in America. Imagine that!
Wall Street will pull the goalie on trying to discredit Ms. Warren.
I'm not a tin foil hat type, but I can predict with near certainty that a full on blitz to destroy her character is about to begin. (I'm looking at you CNBC)
+10
We should keep an eye on the Elizabeth Warren Futures Exchange.
If the credibility swaps trade high for an extended period of time we should probably start shorting her mortality futures
Going on the Charlie Rose show has completely trivialized her - he's nothing but a clownish, coporate medial tool; always has been, should have been castrated long ago. (Oopsy, sorry, he probably was....silly of me!)
Rose has the brains of the Cheney's household vacuum bot (Oopsy, nope, that bot is far more intelligent than Rose).
I've always admired Elizabeth Warren - she's like the proverbial Dutch boy with his finger in the dike, while all the zombies look on.
Elizabeth Warren has no power whatsoever in her positional appointment by congress, ergo, everyone will ignore her except the proles (assuming the proles ever begin to pay any attention and aren't all zombies also).
Regulatory agencies are "..captured by the financial institutions."
That says it all, people.
Credit default swaps are nothing but insurance fraud instruments; anyone who says otherwise is simply repeating tedious fiction, or simply can't comprehend the end game.
Same goes for securitization of debt, and all associated credit derivatives.
How anyone can claim that ever-increasing leverage on ever-diminishing revenue streams --- or no revenue streams whatsoever --- is clueless!!!!!
A Ponzi scheme is a Ponzi scheme, no matter how many permutations.
When she said they pulled us back from the abyss, she lost me. I guess she's clueless as well......
+10
Probably the dumbest goddam comment I've ever read here.
Telling the truth is a dangerous business. The Authorities will attempt to silence her. We need to make sure she continues to speak out. She is a very admirable woman.
The "authorities" as you call them are so brazen that they really don't care. Stealing in the open is the norm.
JPM and GS are breaking the securities laws on a daily basis and nothing happens.
Our defence?
Pull all your money out of the market and the big banks. STARVE the BEAST.
Exactly.
Kleptocrats only have to cover their ass if there is some vestige of a functioning democratic republic. There isn't. We're a full-on banana republic at this point. They can steal in the open and do not need to ask permission. The masses are too busy listening to idiot "approved right-wing windbags" or "approved left-wing windbags" and watching reality TV.
Elizabeth Warren can say whatever she wants. She's powerless, and the majority are not listening.
Back in the old days when we had somewhat of a republic, they shot people. Then as the republic decayed they moved on to merely assassinating character. Now? They don't even have to bother with that. The criminals run the police force.
We need to make sure that she doesn't get into a plane crash, if you know what I mean.
Well now....
Let's look at this a litle closer....
Exactly what are the solutions being offered by htis well meaning person ?
I read the criticisms....I did not read the solutions....
The US does not need those who describe the past....
The US needs those who act now regarding the future....
All action and fewer words....
Time to put most the current poly crop out to pasture where they can neither been seen nor heard....
The US does not need or warrant any more of the cheerleader or blabbering opinions.....
The US needs action....
Granted. She does not give solutions.
The reason is simple. there are no solutions. The world debt can either be forgiven or paid. This is impossible. We have reached the point of no return.
No wise person will offer a solution.
She does give solutions.... the allowance of creative destruction throught the bankruptcy process. Clean books and honest accounting. These are not solutions?
These were solutions indeed.
But, isn't it too late?
There are $650 trillion in derivatives floating out there. How are these going to be repaid?
They let these monsters grow too fast too far.
there are no solutions now.
Actually it's a quadrillion ($1,000 trillion) and the global GDP (or is it GGP) is 50 trillion annually.
Which raises an interesting question. The Earth is in debt 20x it's total annual output. That's 20 years it's TOTAL global output.
WHO has 20 years global output to lend? How did the planet become 20 years output in debt?
THAT is the question.
Through fraud, of course. Just take a look at Fannie and Freddie...and the US government. Fraud is perpetrated in the full light of day.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/garrett-johnson/the-biggest-financial-bai_...
"...they got the profits, they now have to take the pain."
Again, Prof. Warren said it straight. She's a straight shooter. (Or as I read somewhere awhile back, she's America's TOXIC AVENGER.)
Banks going under because of securitized commercial real estate loans, no lending of the banks, because, as the dude said over at http://www.vituscapital.blogspot.com,
they've been out of the lending biz, and heavily into peddling junk paper (that's debt, doods) for decades.
I love Prof. Warren (although I disagree with her remarks on Tiny Tim (integrity) Geithner et al., but she speaks the truth in all else.
Off-balance sheet debt -- off-balance sheet capital -- all scams for the creation of debt-financed billionaires.
what interview did you watch...she said she is for Volcker rule squared, just as ZH pointed out, its not just banning insured depositors from risky prop trading, but issues with CDS etc...she makes same point... she's doing apparently any media interview that will have her at no benefit to herself, she is the biggest advocate for the Consumer Protection Agency, which she points out would not just protect consumers, but in the process protect our whole financial world if big boys not allowed to fraudulently prey on individual consumers, she makes the case TBTF should be eliminated and no bailouts without losses to management and investors first...are those not solutions.
What are you solutions, what are your actions? You sound like a paid troll/agent provocateur.
@ Anon 256264
I think Warren is very clear, the solution is still the same as it should have been originally, it is called forced liquidation of the insolvent banks. For an example look at the Savings and Loan crisis. That is the text book example of what should have happened and should still happen. Do some research on William Black for more insight.
As Warren stated quoting Paulson, it is toxic assets and we have never addressed the root problem. Unhealthy banks are not going to allocate capital properly to aid our failing economy. They are a hindrance to recovery.
Not to mention all those shareholder and executives that benefited from the bailouts.
It is a grave injustice to transfer all of the bad debts from private risk takers to tax payers. We can still reverse this process and cut our losses. Close the insolvent banks, reopen them after bad assets are liquidated and replace the F**ing incompetent management.
+1
but I do say that the arrogant annonomi out there provide a service, they allow people to respond in defense of her arguments
So keep up the harassment
"We've hollowed out the middle class."
But wasn't that the plan? The march of the neofeudalists?
Your comments on highly intelligent and on target, of course, and those first insolvent banks to be shut are Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley; next come those private equity giants.
Did you not read the article? Just sayin - Bullethead
Get rid of several US Government departments, delay the age of going on Social Security, stop most of the Stimulus, enforce normal accounting rule thus forcing a wipeout of most of the banks (although now the bondholders would get more than before the bailouts), eliminate most of governmental restrictions on drilling, interstate insurance sales and just about everything else and you will see the debt paid off in maybe 20 years. It's really not rocket science, it's the mindset of the "gimme" populace and "elect me at all costss" politicians they support.
I guess you're not current on the news. The reason Obama appointed Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson was to hurry along the corporatization of Social Security, Medicare, etc.
Rather obvious, I would think. (Corporatization means privatization, securitization, and transfer of private debt to the public arena, while living those poor, unfortunate debt-financed billionaires alone.)
I actually believe that essentially all government intervention into the economy, pensions. health care and just about anything else it does is unconstitutional, but as Ayn Rand had noticed it's the minor contradictions in the Constitution that were used to totally destroy it. The role of government is to protect the citizens from illegal force and to settle disputes, that's it. Had all the "do good" along with all the "do bad" government programs never existed, we wouldn't have any deficits or in fact any government problems at all. The Constitution should just plainly outlaw any government involvement in anything but courts and defense, and we will have to richest society on earth once again.
ELIZABETH WARREN: Well, I’m going to say it differently. I think that Summers and Geithner are smart. I think they’re honorable. I think they approach the economy and the world through the largest institutions. And they see the world from a top-down perspective.
well honorable if you think lie to congress, .. cheat the American people, favor giant banks , slither here and their .
the top down is the top rules the rest are expendable.
the whole western world fiat experiment ,, is imploding .. leo sees jobs lol
THE END....
Six of my high school classmates and I went on a long weekend retreat up in the mountains. With not much to do and plenty of time, we decided to play friendly poker game with about two hundred dollars total.
Soon enough two of us have broken the other four. In order to keep the game going, we started issuing little sheets of paper with our signatures and $10 denominations.
Two days later, the two of us who had won all the actual dollars, put them away and continued playing with these IOU's and the IOU's had grown to thousands of dollars. Mind you that the risk taking had exploded, as you knew that you can create more IOU's.
Now the weekend came to an end and trying to get paid on the IOU's was of course out of the question.
Is this telling or what? You learn fast in real examples in life.
M. Bernake. Are you listening? Yes you are and you know what's wrong.
The problem is the solution. There is none.
Dark ages are coming.
All of you reading zero hedge and other blogs, either know it or you are in the denial stage. The faster you jump to acceptance the easier will be to survive what is coming.
Noone's bodies get out of here in working order my friend. There's nothing to fear in this place, nothing. What have we to lose, really?
There is a solution. An end to clutching to what we will never possess. We let go of fear, our jobs, taxes, banking, buying crap we don't need, and make our voices heard. There is a window of opportunity for the American people to as one tell the establishment to go fuck itself. It's closing though, and then we will get real fascism, and war, and we will be told what America's rebirth is to be instead of directing it. The window on relatively peaceful change is still open. I still hold out hope for evolution, all of the great spiritual traditions point to times like these. There are enough resources on this planet for all of us if we stop letting DC, Wall St, and the Fed dictate how it's supposed to be.
Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil. -Psalm 23:4
We have a choice people. What are you going to do? Same old shit huh?
This is a "fall back" "start over" position.
To repair and continue, even if the laws are enforced and restored, is impossible.
I do appreciate your comments though.
That woman is so intelligent and so well mannered that becomes super-sexy
I oddly agree.
The woman has a savvy feminine intellect that could easily destroy Summers false Macho Bullshit.
Its time to cut Larrys balls off and turn him into the court eunuch / Jester.
Maybe Barry can get him a Job as official White house spokesperson for womens affairs
+1.
At the beginning of the interview I thought, "Wow, if you could just put her brain in Jessica Biel's body, you'd really have a package." But by the end of the interview, I concluded that I'd take her as is. (If she'd have me, LOL!)
http://media.ebaumsworld.com/picture/name_me5/jessica-biel-nude-gear-01.jpg
Since we're all in agreement, I'm calling rule /34/ on Elizabeth Warren.
Capitalism Driving Humanity's Downfall?
Chris Hedges of the New York Times.
http://rawstory.com/2010/03/capitalism-love-story-exclusive-clip/
no sir capitalism is not driving humanity's down fall.
read reismans capitalism
whats driving the downfall,, is crooks , crocks , cooked books, cancerous Keynesian goo, and a dash of stupid . with a pinch of emperial reach
+1000
Then lets stop calling the economic structure in this country as capitalistic. Lets start calling it a oligarchy. Since there is no solution to our culture of greed concentrated among the top elite, let us not mislead the future generations into thinking that what they will see around them is the result of American capitalism.
That would be a good start. Our biggest problem today is a matter of semantics. "Since capitalism failed we must try socialism". Of course socialism also failed, but people don't learn from distant history. Calling what we have something other than capitalism would be a good start towards conservative reality that the Founding Fathers envisioned. Their ideas were the culmination of two thousand years of political thinking, and yet today we have crooked liars advocating socialism without calling it that.
What capitalism?
The world needs more Elizabeth Warren's and less morons professing to be doing God's work. Her parents did a super job. His parents are likely related to Beelzebub.
Unfortunately, we know what to expect after Obama appointed Diana Farrell, who has made her entire fortune as an adult by the promotion and evangelizing of the offshoring of American jobs. Her appointment was an "economist" -- not as a Wall Street lobbyist and McKinsey shill - yet that is all she's ever been.
There are no economists in Obama's administration. In fact, few can remember the last time a real economist was in any administration?
Democracy requires a FREE PRESS!
Democracy requires a populace with a certain level of education and self-respect. The reason non-free press is tolerated is because most of the populace has no idea about history, and also doesn't care where their salvation comes from just as long as they get bread and circuses.
Most westerners think they have a free press, and that the government wouldn't deliberately do anything to hurt them. They think that corruption happens to other people's countries, and that propaganda is something that happens to silly foreigners with extremist ideologies.
Joe Sixpack needs a paradigm shift before he'll stop trusting the mainstream media to keep him informed. I know because I was him.
Well I am an immigrant from a Communist country so I immediately suspect propaganda when I see anything with even a hint of non-objectivity. Actually with any government action, propaganda is inevitable because it comes naturally to governments to justify what they are doing one way or another.
+1000000
This is THE most important concept broached in the entire thread.
People have no concept of history. Even worse, people follow the time-honored behavior of poo-poo'ing that of which they are ignorant of.
I was on another website for years and finally quit it because it was the Jerry Springer Show of Politics and Issues. No one had any clue of history. No one could speak of present issues in a historical context. In fact, one of my best friends (in the real world) commented on that site "there is nothing to be gained by looking in the rear-view mirror. You can only make progress by looking forward".
I believe that the difference between ZeroHedge posters and the other Jerry Springer Issues websites is mainly that most posters here are keenly attuned to human history. In the circus forums the posters are clueless.
It was a general issues messageboard centered around sports but had a forum for everything. The day that the story broke that NSA was spying on US citizens, the thread that I posted was one page long. In another section, a thread on the TV show Lost was approaching 15 pages.
We're in a lot of trouble.
If Elizabeth Warren is being discussed in that forum now, then the topic is probably a bitter argument over whether she's a democrat or a republican. Seriously. It's that intellectually atrophied.
ELIZABETH WARREN: Well, I’m going to say it differently. I think that Summers and Geithner are smart. I think they’re honorable. I think they approach the economy and the world through the largest institutions. And they see the world from a top-down perspective.
These comments sound like they were made so she has less chance of having an "accident".
brown a 10-4 to that
She is wise. She spoke in code. It is really sarcasm if you think about it. All govt officials are considered "honorable" until convicted. "Your Honor", etc.
We are not as bad as Russia- yet! rasPutin would have offed her by now. So let us keep speaking to everyone we can; in words that they can comprehend. Whether its Joe6pack or a PhD. It can work if we all try. I have seen their eyes brighten when they begin to understand. No- we wont have Utopia but we can reduce theft.
From my cold dead hands............
Funny how the Squid hasn't taken a run at Russia, isn't it? Putin's old-school KGB and he wouldn't have any qualms about sending a hit squad to 85 Broad.
"Homey don't play that game."
Squid and friends have already sacked Russia twice in recent years. Once after fall of soviet union and letting in the globalists afterwards, then for hundreds of billions of dollars via the russian oligarchs in the nineties and left people starving, even had them hocking military equipment and dismantling ICBMs. Where do you think the oligarchs put their money, and who bailed Russia out?
Well she couldn't exactly say "the fuckers should be jailed for the rest of their lives, and it's only because I'm so humane".
And she's been a Harvard prof long enough to realize the pull that fatboy Larry Summers has (former Dean of Harvard who got Iris Mack fired, etc.).
You gotta play cagey with the big (or is that fat) boys!
Pablum. They sound like things can be fixed, recession is over, we can make changes.
OHH wait till you see the changes being broke brings.
I think its a good cop , bad cop scenario. I like her, but dont trust her anymore than barney or the other thieves. What a feel good moment tho! LOL
Bank failures this week:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Banks-shuttered-in-Fla-Ill-Md-apf-16868724...
Could we please replace Helicopter Boy with Elizabeth Warren?
and people wonder why someone flies a plane into and IRS building or shoots folks at the pentagon.
I find it funny that she talks about the president being behind the formation of this agency. I guess at some time you still have to talk the game. if the president wanted one we would have it already
Respectfully, you underestimate the political power of those that have a stranglehold on the financial system.
With the Senate Banking Committee, led by Chris Dodd, D-Conn., poised to unveil its financial regulatory reform proposal sometime in the next week, the report calls on Congress to enact reforms strong enough to prevent another meltdown.
"Sen. Dick Durbin once said the banks 'owned' the Senate," says Johnson. "The next few weeks will determine whether or not that statement is true."
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2010/03/03-0
They'll probably end up burning her like Brooksley Born, can't have govies spewing truth even couching in that manner.
Warren/Born '12
I just watched "Maxed Out"...finally. Maybe the timing it's a good thing, because it highlights how long and how vicious the attack has been against ordinary Americans. I am more aware of it now then I have ever been. I mention it because Elizabeth Warren was in it, looking so much younger, I almost did not recognize her. She has been remarkably consistent. We need some of the yin, and according to ancient chinese knowledge, the pendulum will swing away from the very destructive yang we have had for far too long.
Warren turned me on to the credit crunch, I will give her that. Then I realized she was from Harvard. I hate Harvard. She is being used as a patsie! although bright and alert, she seems to care little about making headway in terms of figuring out "where the money went." On The Daily Show, she said she "did not know where the money went", and then laughed. Ah ha ha Elizebeth, you are so funny! Now she shares lime light with Rose.....well, maybe she will get invited to Bilderberg soon.
Here, she states the obvious, and her solution, even more obvious, "No TBTF." But the medium banks can fail. Great. Thats what we need. Put mom and pop out on the street and let Larry and Timmy stay in their ivory towers. Can we ask the US Government for our $28 trillion back now Ms. Warren? I would rather not pay taxes on the interest of all those doelarrs. Her, stieglitz, and Volker play the "good guys" in this Hegelian soap opera. while all you sheeple watch and discuss, the "bad guys" continue to pillage because your other choices, Volker et al, were either lame ducks, or just pipe dreams (Volker Rule? Get seriosu). No left, no right, no up, no down, no wrong vs. right....There is no spoon!
"whose great desire to be distracted by stupidity like primetime TV is well known to the financial-media complex." Uhh, what is this? This is different? I think not. I hate Rose.
David Rockefeller & Charlie Rose Discuss Bilderberg:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OSsabAtH-A
so rather than joking on Daily Show to make a point she is supposed to act like with her very limited powers she figured out...or she's supposed to be deadly serious on Daily Show and freak out and say she couldn't find the money
On the topic of reformers that may be cahoots with shadowign types...I'm not opposed to reform that is intended to save the system, often after reform comes even more reform...See Gorbachev
I know, what was she supposed to do? But once I would like someone to walk up to mainstream 'merica and slap them in the face, and the Daily Show was her best opportunity. And mutt, if people don't do it soon, it is all over. We have less than 2 years. As in, maybe a year.
I partially agree with you, sir, but hope you are incorrect on Prof. Warren. When one is among the wolves, tossing around fresh meat isn't a wise strategy. (Hence, some of her well-thought out remarks.)
But what can one person, without any power, do? Obviously, Obama would never appoint a real thinking person such as her to his administration, only Geithner, Summers, Farrell, Orszag, Allison, Tyson, O'Toole, Holbrooke, Hormats, Gensler, and the other Wall Street mime crew.
And I fully agree with you, sir. What is E. Warren to do at this point? I think the question she must ask herself is, 'how long should I let the admin raise before I go all in?' I know she is playing her cards tight, and to leave the game would prove foolish, as she would be seen as either a radical, or a loser. So I will hope that if she got dealt bullets, which I think she did, she will call the administration down. Kinda hard to do when BAM is playing with marked cards however....maybe she will go back to the Daily Show to do this. I would welcome that, as "Rose" and his audience would probably throw her under the bus. This is my main point; she lost an oppurtunity to seriously debate her position with Stewart, who may be a comidian but is very savy, and the audience walked away, once again, thinking, "Government is corrupt," instead of, "How will I change this corrupt government?"
The phrase "too big to fail" has always puzzled me.
What if some higher agency had to protect me because I was "too stupid to carry out my duties"? What if I couldn't do my banking, was too stupid to buy groceries, or was too stupid to get thru a normal day?
The whole notion of "TBTF" presupposes a failed existence. Would there be any discussion of TBTF if these institutions were sound?
I certainly wouldn't want to admit I was upper management in a TBTF corp. How embarrassing. Total sleezy existence.
TBTF bankers are the low lifes of the modern world. These fuckers are such losers that we have topics about how much we need a failure of a dinosaur around that we must keep on life support for the betterment of our country.
TBTF is a joke. The banks are a joke. 100% failures.
Hey bankers ---- you ARE failures. Your business is broke! Your way of life is sleezy and your bonuses are socialist handouts courtesy hard working Americans. You are white collar criminals. What you say are sheer lies. You are possessed.
Regardless of too small to fail or too big to fail, a failure is a failure. It's only a matter of time.
Well the idea behind TBTF is that their failure wouldn't just endanger them, which it obviously would, but "the entire financial system". Of course they never explain what the failure of the entire system would look like, or for instance why wiping out every shareholder and bondholder but protecting the depositors would really make the system fail.
the great cave of death
the clueless leo's the world
and the emperial reach
http://emsnews.wordpress.com/2010/03/06/do-we-go-up-the-mountain-or-glide-blissfully-down-to-destruction/
I saw a documentary that claims the real reason the Kremlin fell was the Beatles.
http://frontlineclub.com/events/2009/08/new-screening-how-the-beatles-ro...
I tend to believe that there is a large degree of truth to this documentary.
My point, is that maybe the only way to reach Americans is through the arts and maybe Ms. Warren agrees.
Ron Howard just brought out a small video reuniting a gang of SNL alumnae to push the government for financial reforms. From an article in the NYTimes:
'The skit’s origins can be traced back about two months, when the composer Hans Zimmer met Ms. Warren and talked about financial reforms. Ms. Warren has pushed for the new consumer agency for much of the last year; it is currently the subject of Congressional negotiations.
Mr. Zimmer put her in touch with Mr. Howard, who met her for a meal in Stamford, Conn. Feeling motivated to make a video, Mr. Howard called the writer and director Adam McKay, who co-founded Funny or Die in 2007, because the site has featured political satire in the past. Last fall, for instance, it orchestrated a video in support of a public health insurance option, presented as an endorsement of private insurance companies. '
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/06/arts/television/06funny.html
Maybe this is the way change will happen.
CHARLIE ROSE: That’s a bad deal, isn’t it?
WTF?!
I'm really tired of the press not reporting the facts. If the press did their damn job and reported what has happened, plainsly, instead of conjecturing opinion on black and white facts, we wouldn't be in this mess. There are facts, plain as day facts, and they act like it's still up in the air? The media Fox/MSNBC/CNN/CNBS... it's bs, and they are as much to blame for the last 30 years as the political parties, the ratings agencies, the accountants, the bankers, and the Fed. (among other institutions and individuals)
Of course it's a bad f'ing deal!
We haven't had capitalism in this country, IN MY LIFETIME. We have socialism for the rich and the corporations is what we have. Reagan, Bush I and II, Clinton, Obama... all f'ing socialists, if we want to use the term correctly. It's just who is getting the resources, and guess what it wasn't ain't nor has been the poor and middle class. Is there still a middle class?
Trickle down economics = socialism. People throw around socialism like its a cuss word. When really, REALLY, the issue is how the pie is sliced up. That's resource distribution for you bleed red GOP idiots, and yes I hate the Democrats too. (See Obama's, "They deserve it they are smart guys.") It's F'ing socialism if the poor and middle class get a cut, and pro business/good for business/business as usual if the top 10% get everything. It's all F'ing socialism, so F'ing what?! Do you think it's all hunky dory that the super wealthy and corporations own everything? That's a healthy society for you, just like in Mexico.
There's no fixing this country. Our country is a house who's beams and studs are rotten to the core, the foundation is shot, the roof is leaking with holes in it, the windows and doors are busted, and the piping has been looted; apparently the TV still F'ing works though.
People, for the love of all things holy, think, open your eyes. It's game over. Are you waiting for the government to help?
There's no point in going to work anymore. You are slave. How does that feel? Now get off your behinds, march on Washington, stop buying, stop trading, stop banking, and let's make remake our country while we still have a say in the matter.
What we are getting right now is fascism, a corporatocracy... F'ing socialim. It just kills me how dense and obtuse, how gullible, honest hardworking people can be. YOU ARE BEING ROBBED. HELLO? (waves hand) ANYONE HOME?
There are no cops, the people on watch are in bed with the crooks, no one is going to help us.
For further insight please review:
George Carlin (the American Dream): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acLW1vFO-2Q
"It's a big club, and you ain't in it." GET IT?
so you DID or DIDN'T vote for Ralph Nader every time?
No audio on the Carlin video, I have seen it
in the distant past and its a good one,
Carlin was a genius.
I agree with your comments crab cake,
the nation is past the point of no return
When complex systems are mis-managed, they always fail. Its hard enough to keep complex
systems working while doing "everything"
correctly. But a mis-managed, fraudulent riddled system such as we have will certainly
fail. We were HOURS away from such a failure
is sept 08. I don't believe we can pull that
rabbit out of a hat again...
You somehow manage to miss the fact that it's socialism for the poor as well. They don't pay any income taxes on their meager earnings, they don't pay tuition for their childrent, and they get earned income credit. I think you are a commie, but you are right about corporate socialism. The trick is to pay off the powerful, pay off the lower-earning 50% and leech of the 45%+ close to the top.
“In the meantime nothing will change until democracy itself is reignited in this country.” Our democracy was essentially lost after WW 2 when we began keeping a standing military. Note carefully, this military HAS FAILED TO PREVAIL in all three major conflicts it has created or been presented with – Korea, Vietnam, and now Iraq & Afg. “Democracy” will NEVER come back – most Americans today do not even believe in the basic tenets of our founding fathers. Most governments like ours devolve, or perhaps evolve, into benevolent military dictatorships. That is effectively what we have now. The financial system bailout was, in many respects, orchestrated to keep funding our military. The Potomac is Petraeus’s Rubicon.
Eisenhower on the Military Industrial Complex
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdrGKwkmxAU
You're assuming the DoD mission objectives were to achieve victory over our 'enemies'. What if it is nothing more than the maintenance of position, power & wealth - for those individuals who control the mechanism?
My father was a high-level MIC operative for one of the covert TLAs that are presently monitoring this & other web sites. Hi guys! (Tip to others: just make sure to avoid placing any 'trigger' words in your posts. Tyler, mixing the term "democracy" with other words may qualify you for further 'analysis'.)
Anyway, even though my dad has been retired for years, he's still cagey about what he can reveal. Suffice it to say since Truman took over in April, 1945, the mission objectives aren't, and haven't been, what many think they are. That's why MSM propaganda is so important to divert attention and ensure the success of the 'true' missions.
What we've got here is a situation where the respective welfare/warfare cabals have learned certain tricks from each other. The Fed ($USD) is completely dependent on the ability of our carrier task forces to control ME oil, and the DoD is completely dependent on the ability of the Fed to control/promote global credit expansion via $USD hegemony.
If either leg is compromised, the other is finished. No carriers, the hard $USD oil peg comes into play. No ponzi, no budget (debt) financing for the military.
While it is true that democracy is dead in the USA, every now & then there are black swan events. I'm not sure if Nov is going to alter the status quo to any meaningful degree, but we've got to cross that bridge first.
As long as we are using the Hegeliaan dialectic to set up our Republic, we are doomed. I say it failed with the Civil war. That war was pointless. African Americans were no better off until MLK jr. And that was when the banksters sunk their teeth in....Delino/Morgan. Yes Delino and Morgan were the houses in charge of selling war bonds. and the Rockefellers sold guns. Every single war, and every single army has been armed by these "guys" (demons?) How upset were the Rothschilds after they lost in 1781? Well, considering they had made more monies fighting America than you would even know what to do with, I don't think they cared what the "outcome" was. Losing is not in their vocabulary. If they fought, they won. You best believe Iraq and Af/Pak are going as planned.
The Civil War was pointless??? I agree with you that many, likely the vast majority, of African Americans were no better off with the end of chattel slavery after Army left behind Reconstruction for share cropping and lynch mobs, but have you considered the trajectory of the country prior to the Civil War and where it would have gone without Civil War? It was considered a radical speech when a campaigning Abe Lincoln noted the country could only stand all free or all slave, but now it just plain looks like an accurate statement of the political facts of the day. The south was pushing to force the north to be party to expansion of slavery to the North by being made to return escape slaves, by swamping new territories with pro-slavery folks to turn new states into slave states etc...the south was not content with slavery just being in the south, that's what forced the Civil War. I think Abe Lincoln's speeches make very logical case that the south forced the slavery issue by not staying within the confines of the delicate balance/contradictions of the US constitution, which allowed slavery but confined it. Have your read Abe's Cooper Union speech and others...they really make good logical arguments about this.
And so US shrugging off Brits did no good? America's record is very contradictory, beacon of liberty for its own citizens but had slavery and promoted genocide of indigenous people for taking of their land...US created a constitution that was a great example to others, and still we undemocratically imperialised much of the world. But to say it would have been better that the Brit empire and its tyranny stayed in control of all of North America instead...please..all the slavery, genocide would have still happened plus a lot more tyranny of colonists...with your logic, I guess we would have been better off all being under the Third Reich since some shadow elite types were against Hitler or funded both sides of WWII, I disagree.
Yes I have considered what would have happened. Abe wanted to send them to AFrica. How about that? Seriosly, the dude thought it would be best to get 'em out! Lincoln was average, just like every single president ever except Bobby Kennedy. Maybe there has been another white privilaged male that had the balls bobby did, but look, the founding fathers were racist, the constitution is great but not perfect, and the civil war did not accomplish much other than making money hand over fist for the Morgans and Delinos. where is their monies now? Raping 'merica. The south would have split from the union, and would have become the worthless area it is now.
We needed to shrug them off.....you missed my point there. and Mutt, never put words in my mouth again. Third reich? Totally uncalled for. I said nothing of the sort. A war is always an opportunity. That is that. No more war!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
hendrix's your blunt – adjective
noun informal
a hollowed-out cigar filled with marijuana.
Babe, next week is staring me down. It is one of the most important weeks we will ever see economically. i hope to be able to discern if we will continue on with a hyper inflationary curve, or we will enter the greatest deflation anyone has ever seen. If the current seas continue to melt, and gold and silver run away, we could see 5% gains in PMs, and this shold tell us what to expect until next Fall. I had been waiting for last week, and now I am quite certain the doelarr is donezo. This happens and inflation is moving up in trajectory. There is a chance the market stays flat, which would mean deflation is on the horizon. The VIX will be the tell. By the end of next week I should know. well, we all should. oh, and I could use a bleezy right about now ;)
"the founding fathers were racist" is a stupid statement. Thomas Paine essentially started the anti-slavery movement. SOME founders were racist.
Second, ALL disadvantaged groups eventually cause problems. It may be unfair, but it's MUCH better for the country as a whole to ship disadvantaged groups somewhere else. These groups cost a lot in money, crime, and especially anti-democratic political direction.
Look at asian immigrants: most are a great benefit to the US. It's not a matter of being from any particular ethnic group, it's a matter of coming from a background that respects education and hard work. And still, even the best immigrant groups are very iffy in terms of advancing the overall situation. Many simply don't believe in the type of democracy that was prevalent right after the American revolution the same way as the historic population of the United States.
There is a difference between what's "fair" and what's better for the country.
ok....I will compromise. The constitution states that people who were not rich and white men could not vote. So MOST of the founding fathers were racist. and some african americans decided it wold be best for them to leave, and so they did. who was abe to tell them to pack up and go, "We are done with you now, your time here is used up." I mean come on, they built the place.
Nobody is perfect, but lets see some action, like Iceland. Is this fiasco partly my fault? your fault? Should we all shoulder the blame? Yes. But the people with the mic HAVE TO STAND UP!!!!!! We do not have any time left. We have to start new current seas now, or else we will be using global ones. The longer we sit around, fantasizing about how smart E. Warren and her HARVARD credentials are, the more time we waste. Get angry people, because soon your energy will have no affect. The world will be a police state, and Ms. Warren will continue to join Paul Adolf Volker for dinner.
my father was a racist, loved him though. he had lots of asphalt paving companies and would not pay his men the workers until monday. his theory was if they didn't get paid til after the weekend they would show up for work on monday. he hated unions.
Well, his being racist aside, that was a pretty smart move. I know what it is like to "deal" with racism. My mom often had some of the most ignorant things to say about minorities, and she still does. I used to get upset, but now I know she will remain ignorant until her last breathe, that is, when it comes to THE OPPURTUNITIES THAT MINORITIES ARE OFFERED (to her credit she is a brilliant artist). I think that the point that racism TRIES to address is the problem of advantage. Usually racism occurs because two 'races' are competing for sucess. This is what I think a lot of people do not understand. White, black, asian, whatever; if you are poor, you are at a disadvantage in terms of making monies. On the opposite end, rich people are at such an advantage I think they have no idea what reality really is. This is why I am glad I was raised at the low end of the middle class. By no means was I at a disadvantage, but I was able to see both sides close and personal. I will add I think this is the best thing about the new generations of America. I think that the world is now more open minded than ever before. The real question is, 'will it matter?' If America could start to get together and discuss the issues at hand (monies/oligarchs/facsist government), I think we could solve all things. I love my Mama with all my heart btw. Thanks for sharing V.
while my father was a true racist, we couldn't go over to “there” part of town, they weren't welcome on “ours”, mom considered females to fall under the premise of being included in the minority category. i was raised with this notion and she reccommended using it whenever possible. she became president of RAPCO (republic asphalt paving company) and submitted bids all the time that had to hire minorities or their companies. so mom's et al. were pioneers with exposuring who really is considered a minority beside white men.
I tell my sister I think our best hope is you ladies and your "sacred femininity". It has been dormant in "this" culture for thousands of years, and even the slightest "paradigm shift" will help. One of my favorite stats is that for the first time ever (other than WWII maybe) women are the majority of the workforce. I hope that this will lead to a REAL feminist movement with not just substance (which the ones in the 60's and 70's had) but with longevity. I feel that the Baby-boomers became complacent when Vietnam ended; a "we won" mentality is never good when the game is still going.
yeah baby, i burned my bra right away (though was a carpenter's dream) no frickin wearing Maindenform made bs on me, not going give me breast cancer. fabrics like that synthetic lycra rubber shite pressing on us females. fairly criminal intentions on the manufactures part, oh phuck it is all a conspiracy.
So, rather than coming to work on Monday with slight hangovers, they come in on Tuesday (or maybe not) with massive ones. Sounds more like a control freak (and or worker-hater) than someone with some meaningful application: if it was proven to be effective you'd figure that the majority of companies would apply this logic (and no, don't tell me the unions wouldn't allow it, cause they represent only a paltry fraction of the workforce).
oh and has anyone ever told you race does not exist? so "ALL disadvantaged groups eventually cause problems." what about the white people in 1859 that were "disadvantaged"? Should we have shipped them back to Europe. What kind of place do you come from sir? Utopia? shall we not mix the classes? Should america be left to only the advantaged? dude........
I do come from far, far away. And I wasn't precise in my language: certain cultural groups that maintain a cohesive cultural identity that are disadvantaged will cause problems.
I wouldn't ship any African Americans anywhere because that's inhuman and unjust, and in fact would be particularly unjust in the case of the descendants of people who got here involuntarily. I am just saying that from my observations they and several other disadvantaged groups cause more problems for this country than the benefit they provide. It's an opinion based on experience.
I believe in treating all people as individuals, and punishing a group for "its" past history or projected impact is against everything I stand for. And yet I can make an observation about the reality of the group's impact.
Thomas Paine was not considered a founding father. The real founding fathers had all a very poor opinion of him. His inclusion came later to serve political purpose.
But the part of the comment which makes my day:
you really think you can discriminate against Asians as you can discriminate against US Blacks?
Best Asians doing in the US are Indians and Chinese. Looking down at the ranking shows Asians are doing relatively to their countries power.
Etc...
Thomas Paine was essentially the adopted son of Benjamin Franklin, had a life-long friendship with Washington, and was at first liked and then disliked by Sam Adams. Some think that Jefferson essentially lifted the declaration of independence from Paine, or Paine actually wrote it. Also his writings triggered the revolution, so while he was not included into the central clique, he was instrumental in what they did.
I don't want to discriminate against anyone who is here legally. I just hate not being able to state the obvious about who achieves what because of PC. Poor uneducated minorities are bad for the US, and educated, hard-working minority immigrants are good for it.
You lost me when you made the argument that the War of Northern Aggression was about slavery. It wasn't. Like most bullshit propaganda, and yes, propaganda existed back then too, it was used as a pretense. The War was about centers of economic control, particularly NE dominance of policy. Slavery was an excuse.
Have the utmost respect for Elizabeth Warren. Will she run for President? I'd vote for her. She could select William Black as her running mate. It would be the dream ticket!!!
Despite, all the digital ink spent on the failings of America, especially in light of the ‘I Can’t Believe it’s not Capitalism’ Plan generated in response to the ‘What just Happened Crisis’… hope is not dead, progress has not been outlawed, justice is not forbidden, and evolution is not off the table.
The fire of liberty exists, the embers of truth still glow. As long as one voice stands to speak truth to power, to speak in a fashion that even Mom can understand, the dream of this country lives and can be expressed by each and every one of us.
Forward this video to those that don’t get it, take an effort to put forth that which you know to be true in defiance of the pablum narrative.
We are Amercians damnit, and that word ,yes, still has noble meaning.
We all share the ability to make from clay what our hearts and our minds desire. They can only take from us what we abrogate; they can only lie to us if we refuse to put in the work to know the truth.
Will fight to my last breath to defend this country I love, and the ideal it embodies, and will always support the patriots like Warren that get it, and say it, and repeat it.
It is not a question of being part of the solution or part of the problem. Change does not have to be consistent with someone else’s plan. Change comes from within. To make a difference outwardly one must first find that difference within.
Those that fail to stand for something will fall for anything.
Take a stand.
Free your mind.
Make proud those that gave their lives, defending the ideal that allows you to possess the opportunity to be free…
It might have been me, but I was merely forwarding other ruminations made by various posters. If I may be so bold as to take the liberty of proposing a simple timeline, here's my take on the progression of the various interweb blogs:
Stage 1 (2007-2009) aka Star Wars: Non-financial engineering types like Mish, Denninger, et al began to apply their excellent analytical abilities to what was occurring in the financial marketplace. For bean-counters such as myself and other industry/subject matter experts, this provided a unique way of viewing the world in which we were/are part from a different perspective.
The take away opinion was the (free-market) system was going down.
The culmination of their peak influence was Feb 2009. Not coincidentally this was one month after ZH first appeared, but more importantly, one month before the infamous 666. After that, government at all levels decided to violate every principle of legal precedent and established law in order to save those who had so fully corrupted, compromised and benefited from the system collapse in the first place.
Stage 2 (2009-2010) aka The Empire Strikes Back: This period belonged to ZH. After Denninger, Mish and others had provided basic training for thousands of neophytes (and cool refreshers for pros), all that was left was to prepare & wait for the inevitable system crash. Yet, a funny thing happened on the way to the forum: the system didn't collapse.
This is where ZH really shone - it took insiders to point out what was occurring and why the system reset was being delayed through massive government intervention. At first, it seemed so incredible, so completely & utterly outlandish that our government would engage in such behavior. After all, hundreds of thousands of people had given their lives to protect & preserve the very liberties we enjoy(ed), one ostensibly based on individual free-will and the consent of the governed.
What a shock it may have come to so many to discover that all their long cherished beliefs were based on nothing any different than the various myths & legends of long extinct cultures & empires. But after the denouement, what next?
Stage 3 (2010-) aka Return of the Jedi: OK, so now we have confirmed two things: (a) indeed, the system is going to collapse; and (b) national governments have merely transferred the risk from corporates to sovereigns. Yet, the underlying reality of the exponential math hasn't been altered, only merely deferred.
So, what are we to do? Do we need more lessons/refreshers? Do we need more exposes? I believe the answer to either/both is the reason many long-time posters have gone dark. At least to the the visible eye. The time has come for action. Yet, it cannot be accomplished just by talking - it takes actual boots on the ground.
We have an important election coming up in November. Yeah, both parties are owned, but every generation or so there is enough momentum to overturn the old order. Regardless of your particular political orientation, you should use your skills to educate & inform potential voters. After all, you are all officially subject matter experts in their eyes.
As for myself, I've gone back to my old roots of carefully drilling through daunting, overwhelming financial data - in this case, to pull out certain nuggets which can potentially turn elections. The official line from the state is nothing but propaganda - and silly, unpolished propaganda at that. The pathetic level of their game merely indicates no one is looking; otherwise it would be a little more sophisticated & polished.
The bottom line is they're sitting ducks. They've never had any one or any organization of any substance actually take a close look at what they are doing. The info I've already gleaned will be lapped up by either side to make their respective points.
So, enough of what I'm up to. I'm assuming other who have dropped off are taking similar, concrete steps. The time is nearing for the show to start.
Shit. One of the best posts I have ever read..
Shit.
Good Luck.
Most Americans, including politicians, know very little about how Wall St. operates, nor are they aware that the banking industry owns the US Senate aka the Millionaires Club.
Prime Example: Pete Stark (D-CA) is on the Ways and Means Committee, probably one of the most powerful sub committees in Congress, and to think this guy was almost the next Chairman.
Now watch this video and see just how economically literate he is.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjbPZAMked0
Quote "Our national debt is a sign of our wealth."
Now ask yourself is there any hope for this nation?
Answer: NO.
The politicians are too ignorant to see they are going to bring us to ruin.
Why do we continue to re-elect these same incompetent politicians over and over?
Answer: Rigged political system that benefits those that are in power. Go look at the statistics for incumbents, they very rarely lose. Add that to the fact that most of America is more interested in prime time TV, American Idol, etc., and yes those negative attack adds are the most effective.
Sorry to be so negative, I just don't see good things for our future based upon the preponderance of the evidence.
Its not negative, its just reality
And we have to deal with reality
Hope you're right K9!
Sadly, the power is concentrated with those that prosper in this criminal environment... that's why the bonuses are played up as such a sacred cow... to buy off enough "good little indians" to "circle the wagons" around any potential act of meaningful change.
This is from a comment to the interview on the Charlie Rose site...
What a factual disaster. Elizabeth Warren's complete lack of training in economics and finance is painfully self evident.
Her fundamental view appears to be that profits are bad, business is evil, and the only thing out to save the hapless consumer is the benevolence of a government regulator. Anything that takes from the nameless corporation and gives to the little guy is good, but she completely misses that the nameless corporation is owned by the little guy's pension fund, employees the little guys uncle, and sells the products that the little guy's family relies on.
FACT: The average bank regulator is under thirty years old. Is it realistic to believe that a group of twenty somethings are going to successfully implement some utopian regulation that allows only good things to happen? Or is the more likely scenario that regulators will be bamboozled by bankers and/or engage in random acts of badness because they're too young and lack the knowledge to know what's actually going on?
FACT: Credit cards used to only be for the rich whose credit was good without question. Is THAT the world Elizabeth Warren wants to go back to?!
And the author of this gem... wait for it... HopeforUS
It better be a "really big shoo" K9!... it's a tough crowd out there!
-
The system did collapse, and the Emperor is naked.
I read this site all last year before posting once (never anon). I have noticed that some of the peeps I read last year have stopped posting. I hope they come back.
K9, we are in the middle of WWIII; not knowing "economics" for long, I questioned if I should post anywhere. Then I realized everybody and their mama should be posting all things econ. However fine of warriors we are, we are. Guys like Mish and Keiser sure did lead the way, but it takes an army.
I watch Charlie Rose every night and this interview with Elizabeth was one of the best, however after I shut the TV off and lay back to sleep I knew that not one of her ideas would ever see the light of day.
Obama paraded around this country for what seemed like eternity speaking of "the little guy" then when he gets into office he does the biggest "about take" that I have ever seen in politics...ever.
There's no Democracy in this country, just the haves and the have-nots and our government serves the haves.
Future elections in this country are going to be a huge volatile bloodbath.
Good people's representatives like Warren will never be given power to make a difference until public sentiment insists on it...Warren herself notes our system is completely broken if it can't provide an institution that essentially will provide American people protection for the financial mobsters, bankstas.
Such a broken system would be fixed in a second if the people are united that this must happen...however it appears things will have to get much get much much worse before public sentiment is enough to over come the power and money of the banksters.
I take heart reading about some of the things that went on in the 30s...people do take action eventually.
I like Warren. She's not one of "them." She's in one of those positions which no one of a high profile would take (no power, no money). Think of Chuck Spinney...
The system was built to server the rich, therefore "fixing" it isn't going to resolve anything (other than giving the same folks another shot at screwing us).
The money that disappeared never really existed.
The system of "democracy" never really existed (this is a "republic").
The 30s brought about massive concessions. Hooks were put in place that allowed us to peacefully accept our rule (the rich used to be fearful, but with union heads and "non-violence" the mantra...). And back in those days people had a bit more control of their lives (more people growing their own food; and not controlled by electronic devices).
There isn't enough energy today, That's the issue! We overshot our capacity to grow and now are faced with an energy contraction.
If people want REAL change then they should take over food production. All else flows from there. Getting rid of corporatized food will automatically give us better heath (we don't need better heath "care"!).
The lessons that folks like Warren have for us is what MUST be avoided when we bootstrap into another era/system.
In summation: taking over the "system" is meaningless without recognizing that the system is incapable of providing sustainability: it's predicated on growth, which is NOT sustainable (how about we start talking about This for the basis of going "forward"?).
Democracy may be "dead", but the individual isnt entirely powerless. Every single "pin" that is stuck into the rotting corpse of Statism brings it a little closer to "the end". The end is going to be ugly whichever route is taken, but I maintain a quicker end is probably better for most of us. Starve the beast.
When our interest expense becomes prohibitive, the U.S. will nationalize the Fed.
"In the meantime nothing will change until democracy itself is reignited in this country."
Very few people actually watch Charlie Rose or Bill Moyers and consequently are unable to form opinions other than those presented by the mainstream media. We are basically asleep and it will require a national crisis--such as a market collapse--which will force people to finally open their eyes.
If Elliott Wave Theory is in any way meaningful, then we are now at the cusp of a "three of three" wave down (Kenny's chart below). Perhaps at the nadir, when Americans see their savings gone, their inevitable anger may provide the "ignition" required to bring a spark back to our democracy.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_goypolxEFd4/S5HIs_breZI/AAAAAAAAETM/3wz4Bwn9UY...
The system is designed to paralyze action. And it's working damn well.
I see a lot of suspicion with Warren over her "honorable" comment. Before you toss her aside as a plant, let me tell you about the WHOLE of Pavlov's Experiment.
We all know that Pavlov conditioned a dog to salivate at the ring of a bell by associating food with the bell ring. After repeated conditioning, the dog would salivate regardless of whether he was given food or not.
That's only 1/3 of the story. Bet ya' didn't know there was more, did you?
THEN, Pavlov, applied to the same dog, the following conditioning: Everytime he turned the lights out, he'd beat the dog senseless until the dog cowered. Yep, you're ahead of me. Over time the dog would cower everytime the lights were turned off.
Here's what these ass holes don't want you to know:
Then he turned off the lights AND rang the bell. Guess what the dog did?
Nothing. Absolutely nothing. The confusion and cognitive dissonance paralyzed his ability to react. So in complete apathy, he just "sat there".
Sound familiar?
I give up my title of Dr. Mindfuck to you..
When I can hand someone a broken piece of mirror and say "try peeling your face", then you can call me Dr. Mindfuck.
Lecter was the Master of Mindfucking.
I learned of Pavlov from the Limbomaniacs, probably should have read more and I wouldn't sit here freaking shocked right now by our collective "Pavlovian response".
With her name on the ticket, I could finally be convinced to vote Republicrat.
Early results: Iceland voters reject debt deal
By GUDJON HELGASON and SYLVIA HUI (AP) – 11 minutes ago
REYKJAVIK, Iceland — Still smarting from the crippling aftermath of the global financial crisis, Iceland's voters on Saturday resoundingly rejected a $5.3 billion plan to pay off Britain and the Netherlands for debts spawned by the collapse of an Icelandic Internet bank, according to initial results.
Results returned from around 83,500 ballots — or more than 40 percent of the total ballots expected — counted so far showed that 93 percent of voters said "no" in the referendum, compared to just 1.5 percent who said "yes." Final results are expected overnight.
The referendum results are indicative of how angry many Icelanders are at bankers and politicians as the tiny island nation struggles to recover from a deep recession. The global financial crisis wreaked political and economic havoc on Iceland, as its banks collapsed within the space of a week in October 2008 during the credit crunch and its currency, the krona, plummeted. The Icelandic government was the first to fall as a result of the meltdown.
Members of Congress spend tax money on luxury cars, high salaries and perks
Senators, representatives boosted own budgets by 5 percent last year
Job losses, home foreclosures and the worst economy in decades have forced many Americans to cut back or do without.
But not members of Congress, who voted themselves a 5 percent increase in their own budgets for staff salaries, office expenses and perks last year.
http://tinyurl.com/yjqajrt
Tea Party member are ye?
Why not whine about the MASSIVE perks by the banksters? If you're really worried about money that's where to look (otherwise it's party hackery).
I don't like Rose, and I'm a liberal / progressive. He's a sell out, so is Warren. Both are wusses!
If I had a dime for every time Charlie Rose stuck his tongue up Robert Rubin and Sandy Weil's ass I would be a rich man. Nothing like a few rides on the corporate jet to get ones character straight into the swamp. He's been bribed and paid for, not for billions, but for an invitation to a few cocktail parties.
Charlie Rose is a disgusting fellow. Stopped watching him years ago. His daily genuflection to the fortune five hundred for pennies on the dollar makes him one of the cheapest whores on "intelligent TV"
I hope, when it's time for the guillotine, we remember these traitors who perpetuated the banker myths by allowing them uninterrupted half hour advertising slots on public TV. I can forgive CNBC. They don't conceal there intentions to sell stocks for the mutual fund industry. Clowns like Charlie Rose who disguise themselves in the intellectual cloak of public television and give the banksters a forum to continue the heist on this nation are the most despicable or all.
I'm sure he's on the phone now with Rubin and Buffet. Perhaps they're meeting for drinks later to have a good chuckle over the bone he just threw us.
I'm ready to corner these guys on the street and give them hell. What DNA spawns such evil creatures. Only the Ivy Leagues can produce such deficits of character.
Warren is good. She's trying in her best 'I will not upset my masters too much attitude' but you can tell her mother instinct is having its' patience tried.
A world without banks. It's not as bad as it might seem, and certain economic necessities get recreated even if the old guard goes down. I'm writing a piece on this, which I will submit when finished. The bottom line---as most on this site know---we collectively caved in to the people who would have lost the most. We accepted their self-serving statement of how terrible everything would be if it had all collapsed. Terrible for those who caused the problem or were invested in those who caused the problem---yes---but the rest of us would have picked up the pieces and found a way to move on. There would have been pain, but it would have been concentrated more on those who earned it, rather than on the innocent.
We have now created a society where those born into it inherit a Catholic-style "Original Sin". Americans come into this world guilty, and must pay (taxes, inflation) for the errors of our Adam and Eve, aka Goldman Sachs, BAC, WaMU, Angelo Mozilo, JPM, MS, Paulson-Geithner-Bernanke-Greenspan, etc.
I did not eat the apple.
The Catholic church was the original international cooperation - will the protestant north and the puritan new world accept the domination of these new corporate and wannabee papal usurpers within our system of government or have they become a victim of home grown papacy's that exert a gravitational pull on their imagination that is unstoppable in its ambition
Still doesn't address the BIG issue of resources shortages. No political system that I've run across has yet to fully address the issue of growth. Banks aren't the problem here: they only cater to the political systems (or, as the case seems to be, ARE the political system; at any rate, it's all conditioned for growth).
We have been the victim of monetarist and to a lesser extent Keynesian solutions which have supercharged consumption growth at the expense of investment in energy infrastructure that can sustain growth over the longer term - the pendulums swing has reached its maximum after being given sustained pushes from the Greenspan puts.
Money will have to fill the hole of capitalisation for many years before there is any growth in the worlds output although I would fear that Greenspan and Friedmans theories have been followed to such a extreme level that the possibility of a second dark age is now a good possibility
We have been the victim of monetarist and to a lesser extent Keynesian solutions which have supercharged consumption growth at the expense of investment in energy infrastructure that can sustain growth over the longer term
Money will have to fill the hole of capitalisation for many years before there is any growth in the worlds output
"Sustainable growth" is an oxymoron. Watch Dr. Albert Bartlett's presentation Arithmetic, Population and Energy (http://www.guba.com/watch/3000053112/Arithmetic-Population-Energy).
We've been willing victims. We WANT to believe that we can exploit the planet without any negative affect.
Political system, money systems, ALL are doomed without a proper sense of maintaining sustainability. Since there have been none to date (excepting some scattered tribes), there can be no "returning" to some previous era in order to "fix" things (commonly stated as "take back 'our' country" etc.).
In a closed energy system sustainable growth is indeed a oxymoron - the biomass of a ecosystem for example is dependent on the energy available and the raw materials at hand but the human brain has the ability to increase both the energy available and then the subsequent raw materials - the brain is not necessarily a closed system - it can override nature and its tendency to revert to entropy when the above factors decline.
We are the first animals capable of symbolic thought - this is both a danger and a gift . The acceptance of nature as being the perfect manifestation of efficiency may indeed be correct but nature has no ability to change the energy source which it is dependent on .We on the other hand have a measure of choice and freewill.
The monetarist system in particular seemed to suggest that we were incapable of having free will and imagination - it provided tokens of energy to simply run down further energy units.
If we again start to build capital we will have the means and ambition to change the rules of the game in our favour and create a more complex human ecosystem bubble which I concede will always be surrounded by the organized chaos of nature.
If I were president, I would appoint Brooksley Born and Elizabeth Warren as Chairman and Vice Chairman of the FED.
If I were President, I would appoint Brooksley Born and Elizabeth Warren as Chairman and Vice Chairman of the FED.
if I were the congress.. the fed would be gone vote 100 gone 0 keep fed
Warren, Tavakoli, Bill Black and Taleb. They have all demonstrated that they get it. These folks need to be in the ascendency, and the bought and beholden brought low. Put these folks on a committee with teeth and funding, and lets see if balance sheets can't be repaired before the final implosion.
Looks like the Tungsten bitchez pulled the video.
Go figure.
diebold voting machines will save us; iceland too.
COMPLEMENTARY LOGISTIC SOLUTION TO THE CRISIS
Beside the TRILLIONS committed for all the multiple rescue plans, a necessary complementary strategic & logistic intervention become imperative to put some order in this crisis of total financial anarchy at all stages. We are all aware now that most figures and values, are unreliable, uncertain, and at best unmeasurable……….
HOW CAN ANYONE TRUST, EVALUATE, ASSESS, UNDERSTAND, ANALYSE, CONTROL, MANAGE, AUDIT, REGULATE, RATE OR RESCUE IN THIS CHAOTIC ENVIRONMENT???
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MAURICE
In the meantime nothing will change until democracy itself is reignited in this country.
For me a very profound statement. With every passing day I am beginning to realize this is our only hope.
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